Coaching casualties mount on NFL's Black Monday

Monday

CINCINNATI — The Bengals fired coach Marvin Lewis on Monday, ending a 16-year stay in Cincinnati that included seven playoff appearances without so much as one win.

The move ends the second-longest head coaching tenure in the league. New England's Bill Belichick is wrapping up his 19th season with another postseason berth. He's won five Super Bowls and made eight appearances in the title game, both NFL records.

Lewis leaves Cincinnati with a postseason record of 0-7, the worst in NFL history. The Bengals haven't won a playoff game since the 1990 season, tied with Washington for the fifth-longest futility in league history.

A third straight losing season punctuated by plummeting attendance prompted change-resistant Mike Brown to finally cut ties with Lewis, whose loyalty and close working relationship with the owner brought him repeated contract extensions even as the playoff losses piled up.

They described their parting Monday as a mutual decision.

The Bengals (6-10) lost in Pittsburgh 16-13 on Sunday and finished last in the AFC North for only the second time under Lewis. Attendance at Paul Brown Stadium has fallen to the second lowest in the league, ahead of only the Los Angeles Chargers, who are playing in a small, temporary stadium.

"I didn't deliver what the No. 1 goal is, and that's to be world champions, and we did not get that done," Lewis said at a news conference. "A lot of positives, but that's the one goal as a coach you look forward to doing. Mike and I both decided it's time. I think it's a tough moment for both of us, but we both realized."

Brown didn't appear with Lewis on Monday.

"Personally, I am very fond of Marvin and will miss working with him," Brown said in a statement. "He is a friend and a colleague, and I thank him for what he has meant to this franchise. But it is time to turn the page and look toward the next chapter for our organization, and we are excited about what the future holds for the team and our fans."

The surprise wasn't that he was fired, but that he lasted so long.

Lewis was a rare hire from outside the organization when Brown brought him aboard in 2003, three years after he helped Baltimore win a Super Bowl with a record-setting defense. The Bengals set club records for defensive futility this season, with Lewis taking over the job as coordinator at midseason when Teryl Austin was fired. The defense improved, though not enough to make a difference as the Bengals squandered a 4-1 start with nine losses in the last 11 games.

The Bengals brought back Hue Jackson as a special assistant after the Browns fired him during the season. Jackson is close to Lewis and has spent three stints on his staff with the owner's approval. Given Jackson's failure in Cleveland — three wins in two-plus seasons — fans would see his elevation to head coach as more of the same.

Lewis lobbied Monday for the Bengals to interview Jackson for the head coaching job.

"I think he's more than qualified," Lewis said. "I think he's been in a couple of difficult situations (in Oakland and Cleveland), and that's tough, and it hasn't broke his way. But I think he's an excellent football coach, he's a great motivator, he's detailed. So I think he deserves an opportunity, if not here somewhere else."

Cardinals release Wilks

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals have fired Steve Wilks after just one season as head coach.

Wilks' firing followed a 3-13 season, the franchise's worst record in 18 years and the worst in the NFL this season.

Wilks, 49, was hired after Bruce Arians retired following five seasons in Arizona. It was a dramatic shift in styles.

Arians was known for his flamboyant personality and dynamic offense. The low-keyed Wilks came to the job with an entire coaching resume on defense.

He was defensive backs coach at Carolina for five seasons before being promoted to defensive coordinator by Panthers coach Ron Rivera for the 2017 season.

The Cardinals zeroed in on Wilks as Arians' successor.

"In our research, they talked about what a passionate coach (Wilks) is on the field and what a terrific leader he is," team President Michael Bidwill said at the news conference announcing the hiring. "Players love playing for him."

Wilks said then that "this is not really a rebuild, this is a retool. We have the culture of winning here. We just have to be able to sustain it."

Wilks wanted to build a team centered on toughness up front and a power running game. But things fell apart quickly. The offensive line struggled even before it was decimated by injuries and the defense was susceptible to big plays.

Rookie Josh Rosen took over at quarterback four games into the season, replacing the ineffective Sam Bradford.

The offense struggled and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy was fired seven games into the season, replaced by quarterbacks coach Byron Leftwich

Broncos oust Joseph

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Vance Joseph was fired as coach of the Denver Broncos on Monday after back-to-back double-digit losing seasons.

Joseph met with general manager John Elway after completing a 6-10 season and was dismissed with two years and about $6 million left on his contract.

"I spoke with Vance this morning and thanked him for all of his hard work as our head coach. Although we decided to make this change, I believe Vance is a good football coach who has a bright future in this league," Elway said in a statement ahead of his news conference scheduled for later Monday.

"Vance made a lot of strides and deserves credit for how hard and competitively the team played this season. There's always going to be a high standard here [--] the bottom line is we need to win more football games. We're excited about the foundation that's being built and look forward to putting in the work to get the Broncos back on the winning track."

Despite that foundation, the Broncos' job isn't what it was just two years ago when Joseph replaced Gary Kubiak, who stepped down a year after leading Denver to the Super Bowl 50 championship.

The Broncos are now mired in a three-year playoff drought. There's a family feud as the Bowlens publicly haggle over the future of the franchise. Joseph never was fully empowered to run the football team as Elway dictated many of the assistants that were hired. And the team hasn't had a title sponsor on its stadium for several seasons.

Joseph acknowledged after the Broncos' 23-9 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in which there were more than 12,000 no-shows at Mile High Stadium that an 11-21 record wasn't good enough by Broncos standards.

Still, he said, "I think we've put a lot of work in. There's a foundation that's been laid here that should pay off in the future." Joseph said he wanted to "come back and make this thing right."

Several players, including star Von Miller, said they wanted Joseph to return for a third season. Instead, Elway decided to embark on a search for his fourth head coach in six seasons.

Falcons clean house

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Widespread changes came quickly following the Atlanta Falcons' first losing season since 2014.

Changes were expected, and out are offensive coordinator Steve Sarkasian, defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong — all fired on Monday.

Coach Dan Quinn announced the firings and said he will take over the defense.

"All three of these men are excellent coaches that I have a lot of respect for," Quinn said in a statement released by the team. "While these are difficult decisions, we know we have a group of players here we are excited about and in order for us to consistently play true to our identity in all three phases we thought we needed some changes."

Falcons owner Arthur Blank said recently he still has confidence in Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff. Still, changes were expected after a 7-9 finish.

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